FOI release

FOI Time to evaluate drugs and treatments

Some or all of the information requested was not provided because we determined that the cost to do so would exceed the appropriate limit.

Case reference FOI2026/00721

Received 6 July 2026

Published 7 September 2026

Request

Under the FOI Act, please could you provide me with the average time it takes (in days) for the MHRA to evaluate new treatments and drugs for cancer patients? Please could you also share the target average (by days) that MHRA holds internally for evaluating new treatments and drugs for cancer patients? If possible, please cover the latest 12 month data available and any yearly comparisons that may be useful. If any parts of this request may fall under exemptions from freedom of information laws, please redact the smallest amount of information possible (not whole sentences or sections, as is the case here) and label each redacted part with the specific reason for exemption under the act. Please note that this redaction process should not be taken into account when accounting for the costs of carrying out the request. Please note the Information Commissioner's Office guidance that authorities should "Provide as much meaningful information as possible" and "As far as possible, ensure that what you provide makes sense. If you have redacted so much that the document is unreadable, consider what else you can do to make the information understandable and useful for the requester." https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi/guide-to-managing-an-foi-request/responding-to-a-request/refusal-notice/

Response

See attached

Documents

• FOI2026_00721 (redacted).pdf (767.7 KB)

This is Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

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